By KOPANO MONAHENG

MANDELA Month is far from over, and pupils at Pimville Primary School in Soweto had every reason to smile after receiving a special visit from Pikiup today.

The cleaning company celebrated Mandela Month by donating toys to pupils and dustbins to the school. This brought joy and excitement to the entire school community.

The aim of the bin donation was help the school maintain a clean and healthy environment. School’s principal Puleng Motaung, said Pimville Primary School is one of the oldest schools in Soweto and that maintaining a clean environment remains one of their top priorities. She welcomed the donation, saying it would encourage pupils to take pride in keeping their school clean.

“It has always been our policy to keep our school clean. Although we currently have only one general assistant, we have taught our learners to take pride in their environment by not littering and by supporting the cleaner wherever they can,” said Motaung.

She said their goal as a school was to become one of the best schools in Soweto, not only in terms of academic excellence but also in maintaining a clean and welcoming environment. “We currently have 250 learners, with one classroom allocated to each grade. Looking ahead, we hope to improve our facilities by painting the school roof, installing smart boards in our classrooms, and revamping our computer room so to provide our learners with better access to technology and a more modern learning environment.”

She also appealed to businesses and organisations to partner with the school by helping repaint its ageing buildings and giving the institution a fresh new look. The principal further highlighted the need for new computers to strengthen digital learning and security cameras to improve the safety of both pupils and staff.

She revealed that the school plans to introduce Sesotho as an additional language in 2027. At present, isiZulu is the only African language offered there. The introduction of Sesotho, she said, will help transform the school into a multilingual institution that better reflects the diverse community it serves.

The Mandela Month initiative showed that acts of kindness, no matter how simple, can make a meaningful difference in the lives of young people while inspiring hope for a brighter future.